Newtown Musician Will Open

Library’s Concert Series

By Shannon Hicks

The Duane Reilley Trio has been tapped to open the 2000 Summer Concert Series at C.H. Booth Library in Newtown.

The summer series presents three free concerts during the summer months, each open to the public and suitable for all ages. Picnics are welcome, and audience members should bring lawn chairs or blankets for their seating. In the event of bad weather, concerts are moved indoors to the library’s main meeting room.

The Duane Reilley Trio will be performing on the library’s back lawn on Friday, June 23, beginning at 7 pm. The library will host The Jackson Pike Skifflers on July 14, and the local trio Treblehook — which has just released its first full CD, called Hooked — will conclude the library series on August 18.

Mr Reilley is a Newtown resident. He and his wife Carol, in fact, both work out of their own studios at their home on Juniper Road; Carol as a full-time painter, and Duane as a musician. He also teaches at Wooster School in Danbury, The Gunnery School in Washington (CT), and at a private studio, Kane’s Studio, in Danbury. But it is the live performances that get Mr Reilley’s blood flowing.

Duane Reilley has been practicing, creating, and performing music since at least age 16. He has become a well-known musician, and has an expertise in the woodwinds: flute, sax, and clarinet. He can play anything from classical to jazz, Big Band to contemporary, and about anything in between.

“I can remember this one show, I was just out of high school and not even 18 yet,” Mr Reilley recalled earlier this week. “I had an opportunity to play at a club, but in those days you had to be at least 18 to get into a club. I had the manager make up a fake draft card for me so that I could play that night. I thought that was the best thing,” he laughed.

His career is a little more stable now. No one questions his abilities, and his calendar includes an average of 100 to 120 performance dates each year. The summer months include a lot of outdoor shows, such as the one at the library next week, and other events that take him across the New England region. He also does a number of private jobs such as weddings, one of which he performed at just last weekend as part of a group of musicians selected by Clark Eno. Other recent performances include work at Lincoln Center and Irving Plaza in New York City, Ives Concert Park in Danbury, Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, and with touring troupes for theatre in Connecticut and New York.

The June 23 performance at C.H. Booth Library in Newtown will feature Mr Reilley along with Dave Daddario on acoustic bass and David Childs on keyboard. Mr Daddario and Mr Childs are also well known in the music world, having played with the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Harry Connick, Jr, and Lionel Hampton, among others.

The trio has performed together in the past, as all three men are freelance musicians — “guns for hire,” as Mr Reilley calls them. “People call, we play,” he said.

The set list for next Friday’s concert at the library is far from finalized. There are different songs that work well outdoors, Mr Reilley explained, and some songs that work better with certain musicians. The concert will include some Gershwin, some Latin music, and some ballads, he said.

“It’s a concert situation, where we’re going to decide what to play,” said Mr Reilley. “I’m actually still working on exactly what we’re going to play. Certain things you play well with certain musicians, and that’s one of the reasons I picked these guys: They’re seasoned players. They’ve been around a long time and they can pick up a lot of things at a moment’s notice.”

Mr Reilley hasn’t had any work outside the music vein for nearly 20 years, something he calls “a great thing.”

“I’ve been very fortunate,” he admitted, “and I’m very happy about this. I’m my own boss.”